Prosecutors told jurors on Tuesday they’ve seen a “mountain of evidence” to prove that Donald Trump falsified business records in order to cover up a damaging story about an alleged affair at the end of the 2016 election.
Trump’s attorneys told the jury that the prosecution’s criminal case against the former president is wholly reliant on the testimony of Michael Cohen – the “MVP of liars” who is out to get Trump.
Which narrative the jury believes could ultimately decide Trump’s legal fate.
The defense and prosecution gave their closing arguments in Trump’s New York hush money trial, spending many hours late into the evening Tuesday offering the jury diametrically opposed stories about the payment made to Stormy Daniels in October 2016 and the subsequent reimbursement to Cohen the following year.
On Wednesday, Judge Juan Merchan will give the jury his instructions in the morning, and then jurors will begin deliberations, with the historic and unprecedented trial – and a pivotal moment in the 2024 presidential election – hanging in the balance.
Here are takeaways from Day 21 of the Trump hush money trial...
The Washington Post: Amid roadkill epidemic, California builds world’s largest wildlife bridge by Reis Thebault
AGOURA HILLS, Calif. — The 10-lane freeway that slices through this part of Southern California is one of the busiest in the country, ushering more than 300,000 cars across the greater Los Angeles area every day.
For drivers, it’s a nightmare: This stretch of Highway 101 is known as the “highway from hell,” the infamous host of the nation’s worst commutes.
But if the 101 is bothersome for bipeds, it is downright disastrous for the wildlife that also calls the region home. The 101 cuts like a chain saw through a vibrant natural ecosystem of coastal sage scrub and oak trees interspersed with suburban neighborhoods, disrupting the movement of animals and threatening their survival.
Now a massive infrastructure project is underway to suture together the vast tracts of fragmented wildlife habitat that have been separated by the highway for decades. Construction on a key phase of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — a $100 million structure funded by a mix of public and private money — began last month and it is expected to open in early 2026.
NBC News: Negro Leagues statistics to be officially incorporated into MLB historical record by Juliette Arcodia and Colin Sheeley
Josh Gibson has long been considered one of the best baseball players to ever hold a bat, but you might not know his name. The 1972 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee never had his name in the Major League Baseball record books — until now.
MLB confirmed Tuesday that Negro Leagues statistics will officially become a part of MLB's historical record Wednesday. The move will open the door for 2,300 Negro Leagues players to have their accomplishments recognized in the league's official database.
The news was first reported by USA Today.
The news comes three years after Commissioner Robert Manfred announced that “Major League Baseball is correcting a longtime oversight in the game’s history by officially elevating the Negro Leagues to ‘Major League’ status.”
Gibson will now lead multiple batting categories.
Guardian: Taiwan passes controversial reform bill after violence and protests by Helen Davidson
Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has passed a controversial reform bill after days of hostile debate and physical fights between MPs inside, and mass protests by citizens outside.
The bills passed 58 votes to 45, Bloomberg reported, after a third reading on Tuesday evening in Taipei during which there were further scuffles and members of the ruling party throwing paper planes and hurling garbage bags at the opposition.
The bills were driven by the two major opposition parties, the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and populist Taiwan People’s party (TPP), which together hold a majority of the parliament after gaining ground over the ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP) in January’s elections. The DPP won the presidency, with Lai Ching-te formally inaugurated last Monday.
BBC News: Israel's operation in Rafah doesn't cross US red lines - White House by Christy Cooney
The US does not believe Israel has launched a full-scale invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, White House spokesman John Kirby has said.
He spoke hours after Israeli forces reached the centre of the city and reportedly seized a strategically important hill overlooking the nearby border with Egypt.
US President Joe Biden has previously said a full-scale invasion in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are still thought to be sheltering, would cross a red line.
Mr Kirby was also questioned about an Israeli air strike and a resulting fire that killed at least 45 Palestinians at a tented camp for displaced people on Sunday.
Israel has said it believes the fire could have been caused by weapons stored in the vicinity by Hamas exploding.
DW: Brazilcore: How favela fashion became cool by Djmilla Prange de Olivera
"Who said that the flag doesn't belong to us?" Abacaxi wrote in one of his Instagram posts. The photo shows models sporting the fashion designer's Brazilian collection: Clad in flag-inspired yellow and green shirts, skirts and bikinis, they wave the Brazilian flag.
The Rio de Janeiro-born designer released the clothing line in the middle of Jair Bolsonaro's presidency, between 2019 and 2023. At the time, the Brazilian flag was seen as a political symbol of the populist right-wing politician and his followers.
"He ripped the flag away from us," Abacaxi told DW in Rio. "The Brazilian aesthetic disappeared from the favelas, Brazil's dense urban neighborhoods, when Bolsonaro became president."
This is precisely what he is trying to change with his fashion label Piña. Abacaxi's goal is nothing less than to reclaim the meaning of the Brazilian flag and its colors as a symbol of national identity.